As the phrase is used herein, “emergency locator beacon” generally refers to commercial, military, and general aviation Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs), consumer and military Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), and maritime Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs), including those operating in the international 406 MHz Cospas-Sarsat system. All of these devices need occasional testing to verify proper operation. In fact, the U.S. Coast Guard has rules requiring the mandatory testing of EPIRB's on a monthly basis.
Currently, there are four main groups offering beacon testing services: TSI, Inc. (a manufacturer of Local User Terminals (LUTs)), government entities such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian government, various entities using beacon testing equipment manufactured by A.R.G. ElectroDesign Ltd./Sartech Engineering Ltd. and WS Technologies, Inc., and a number of small test shops/manufacturers to which a beacon owner must return a beacon unit for testing. Of these groups, only TSI, Inc. and the Canadian government provide “over the air” (OTA) testing, that is, testing to verify that the beacon unit is properly transmitting a signal when activated.
Up to now, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations have limited consumer testing of emergency locator beacons to self-testing (internal integrity testing) or to the use of a beacon tester. “Live” testing through the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system has been strictly prohibited.
What is needed, therefore, is a comprehensive way to test emergency locator beacons which includes local testing and an OTA test through the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system.